It's December and rapidly approaching both Christmas and January 3, 2008 - the date set for the first in nation caucus. There are three events in my life that are all happening at the same time right now. My name is Karin Hill, and I work in the Men's Department of Marshalltown, Iowa's J.C. Penney store. At work all of us associates are hustling as fast as possible to get everything done before December 25th. In my free time I hang out with a group of people who call themselves the Marshall County Democrats. We are the ones responsible for putting together the Democratic caucuses in Marshall County. And thanks to Steve Sodders, who is now running for the Iowa Senate, I have taken over the chair position. In doing so, I have become a part of organizing the caucus. Finally, I have also committed to working with the Bill Richardson for President campaign in Marshall County. As a volunteer, I get to experience yet another aspect of the Iowa caucus.



Becoming a supporter of Governor Richardson was not a hard decision. As an active Democrat, I had heard very good things about his work in New Mexico. In March, just after the bad ice storm, the governor came and gave a talk at our headquarters. He was personable, and he had a good sense of humor and a good handshake. But it was several months later that I was reminded of his resume. Avery Dale, the field organizer for Marshall County was invited (along with the other candidates' speakers) to our women's group meeting to talk about the candidates' issues. In almost every sentence, Avery talked about Governor Richardson's background and experience. It was this event that made me realize that I needed to listen to him speak again -- to put together both sides of the governor--the friendly, plain-spoken man with a smile who has been U.N. Ambassador, U.S. Secretary of Energy, a hostage negotiator, a Congressman and the two-term Democratic governor of a red state.



As I started helping out as a volunteer, I realized how much work was involved in running and managing a campaign office. Avery is extremely dedicated. He takes an active role in the organization process, spending long hours working every day. I had the opportunity to help organize a visit from Governor Richardson to our senior center back in early November. We put up signs in the local businesses and phoned supporters about the event. I volunteered to work at the sign-in table. In addition, meeting the other volunteers has been rewarding - these are community members who also think that the future of our country is so important. I have been impressed by the hard work from people from all age groups and all walks of life. Governor Richardson appeals to people from all backgrounds because he has a positive view of the future and good, old-fashioned, Midwestern values.

Karin Hill

Marshall County Democrats Chair

Richardson for President Regional Leader